The Division Beta Impressions

Hey Guys, I've spent quite some time on the beta for the Division. Since the beta is only available until this Monday as of writing this, I can't put in the amount of hours into the beta as I originally hoped to. However, I do have to give this game the benefit of the doubt since this is just a beta.

This is the first time you would be able to enter the city

Before I start on the gameplay, let me mention Ubisoft's tendency to make a downgrade to their games by the time they release. If you have not heard or noticed by now, the graphics to The Division have been watered down quite a lot. The graphics should not matter, but since this game was made specifically for current-generation hardware there should be no reason why it should look the way it does. Are the graphics bad? Of course not, but it just looks bland.

Most importantly, Ubisoft made the same mistake with Watch Dogs in terms of graphics. Remember how much of a big deal it was when fans noticed that Watch Dogs looks a lot worse compared to when it was first announced? This should set off some red flags if you ask me.

Okay, let me go on to the most important matter which is the gameplay.

Let me mention that the initial character customization screen really sucks. You have a choice of about 5 randomized default characters from the start for each gender. However, this is the beta, so I shouldn't be too critical about it.

If you haven't noticed, you could also change your clothing. You kind of have to pick them up from an enemy if they drop something new.

Now, character movements and gunplay are the best parts of the beta. If you've played Gears of War or any kind of cover based 3rd person shooter, you're going to love the gameplay. Literally, how the game actually plays.

Otherwise, the game feels too much like Destiny. If a game is too much like Destiny, then there should be red alarms setting off right now. I'm not kidding. The story in this game is uninteresting, but it is only a snip-it of it, so I'll still give a pass for it. Additionally, the reusable enemy types are totally something out of Destiny.

Even the enemies are scaled to match your level. By the way, you level up insanely fast, but that's because it's the beta. Much like any RPG, you kind of have to level up in order to actually use better weapons.

The weapon customization looks like it has some hope coming for it. The attachments you use actually matter, so you feel compelled to look for more attachments or even for better weapons. Of course, you could always get better loot from The Dark Zone.

I stood here for a good five minutes just taking in the environment

The Dark Zone is such an empty, depressing place to be in, but that's exactly what makes it so awesome! This is also the place you're going to spend most of your time in because you get to actually find loot as well as working with other people or killing people to get these loot items. Also note that all contaminated loot you find must be extracted through helipads. Once you call in for an extraction, everyone in the match will be aware of it, so either prepare to fight NPCs alongside players or get ready to fight against other players.

If you kill people in The Dark Zone, you will be targeted by the whole server. It makes The Dark Zone much better to play on because these fights against other players can get pretty tense.

Let me talk about the world itself. It's a pretty good size for a beta, so I hope it gets much larger once the games releases. I'm aware that more of New York will be unlocked within the next couple of months after the game releases, but the map should be bigger than it was in the beta.

I know what I'm about to complain about may not matter, but there is too much HUD information! I know this is common in a lot of Tom Clancy games, but I personally feel like the HUD needs to take it down a notch.

Overall, I feel that the beta is solid at best. I'm not really impressed by what the beta had to offer, but I still enjoyed my time with it. Please, do play with friends. However, the game could either be dead on arrival or a better version of Destiny. At the same time, I don't want to have to compare this game to Destiny, but I just get a Destiny vibe whenever I hear the mere mention of this game.

As I said several times in this post, this is only a beta, so only time will tell if this game will live up to its hype.
Till Next Time!!